Cadillac STS: Bose 4.0

Third Place: Who Rules the Sound Roost?

Like Joan Rivers hollering through a megaphone, the Bose 4.0 system immediately impresses. It includes an automatic equalization function, the much-talked-about (but little used) "radio data system," four graphic-equalizer settings (including one that enhances the voices of talk-show hosts, as if they need any amplification), a weather-band channel, and an automatic speed-volume control that fortunately can be disabled. What's more, it offers what every voter agrees is the most convenient architecture for inserting CDs: a single-disc slot in the dash, plus a six-disc changer between the front seats, although the latter is a $625 option.

If it's sheer quantity of sound you're pursuing, well, the Bose 4.0 is the one system here that reliably rattles the car's rearview mirror. Its big-boy bass made Järvi laugh out loud. And why not? Funnel 425 watts through the 1812 Overture and motorists two lanes distant start shouting, "Incoming!"

Unfortunately, during low-volume string passages and delicate jazz noodlings, the Bose speakers didn't give us the detail we expected, nor were the instruments always credibly re-created. "The strings in Vivaldi's Four Seasons hum and buzz as if in a single hive," noted one listener. The fan in the Cadillac is the noisiest, too, which encouraged ever-higher musical volumes.

"In the Caddy, I find a big disparity between the front and rear speakers," Geils noticed. So did we. That rear bias sometimes makes you feel as if you're standing with your back to the stage. What's more, both CSR editors guessed that the Cadillac's frequency response was compressed -- that is, artificially lopped off top and bottom. Their spectrum analyzers agreed.

One of the Cadillac's tone controls is dedicated to the midrange, a thoughtful flourish to boost vocals that are otherwise overpowered. However, operating those controls -- by hitting "tone" and then punching the "level" button again and again -- is still needlessly fussy.

"Flashy, brassy, and bright," said Geils, "but I like it. An accomplished pop-music machine." Of the three systems tested, we judged the Cadillac's as "the most sound for the money," and we'd encourage SLS buyers to make the $998 upgrade. Pay up and hang on.